* Please remember to call us for more up-to-date or detailed information! These reports are not meant to be your one and only, daily source of information. They are typically general, even seasonal type reports and we currently don't have a set schedule as to when we update. Please, just because we don't update as often as we like, it doesn't mean that we don't care.
There are many different approaches you should take in order to get a good game plan for a trip or a day of fishing. Also remember that things change and these reports are what we know at the time of posting only. Keep in mind that we do express opinions and personal preferences from time-to-time which may be different from yours or what you may read elsewhere. Thanks for checking and don't forget to call us if you need any further information or a more up-to-date report. 614-451-0363
Warmwater
Big news this week was the wild rain and storms we experienced here in Central Ohio on Wednesday night and into Thursday. Here in town we got upwards of 3" of rain and some areas North got upwards of 4". Some areas (the Mad) got virtually none.....which is horrible news.
The good news is that most streams that did shoot up are on the way back down and most everything should be fishing pretty good this weekend. Prior to the storms we were flooded with reports of good to excellent warmwater fishing throughout the state.
* Of course, the buzz word is Cicadas...as you have been reading here for a few weeks. Although they may be slowing down a bit in some areas, the Cicada fishing has been absolutely fantastic, providing on the of the best "topwater" bites we have ever seen. Carp in particular have been going nuts over these things!
Mad River
Big news this week was the wild rain and storms we experienced here in Central Ohio on Wednesday night and into Thursday. Here in town we got upwards of 3" of rain and some areas North got upwards of 4". Some areas (the Mad) got virtually none.....which is horrible news.
The good news is that most streams that did shoot up are on the way back down and most everything should be fishing pretty good this weekend. Prior to the storms we were flooded with reports of good to excellent warmwater fishing throughout the state.
* Of course, the buzz word is Cicadas...as you have been reading here for a few weeks. Although they may be slowing down a bit in some areas, the Cicada fishing has been absolutely fantastic, providing on the of the best "topwater" bites we have ever seen. Carp in particular have been going nuts over these things!
Riley Srbljan with a nice carp in on a Cicada pattern!
"Seriously. The cicadas on the water are driving the carp insane. Great shot and big fish for people who have been frustrated with them in the past, or for kids to get into their first fish.
Find a flat, throw something black and big that floats, and hand the rod to a kid, and tell them to hang on!- Ryan Srbljan"
****It has been such a frenzy that we have completely sold out of Cicada fly patterns. We are doing our best to get more but not having much success. We also can't get enough black and orange foam to keep up with the demand. Seems that everybody in the East is looking for flies and supplies and they have become hard to get. We'll keep trying though.
* Alot of reports coming out of the AEP lands and folks reporting bass and bluegill are smashing Cicadas as well. As an alternative, many folks are using Black Poppers/Sliders and hooking as many fish as they want. Seems that you don't have to be throwing a perfect pattern in order to get in on the action.
* Of course, Mulberry season continues in full-force as well providing us with one of the best Carp months we have seen in many years. Hopefully you have been following along. We'll be posting some more videos here this weekend and also putting up a tutorial on tying the "perfect" Mulberry fly. Stay tuned but in the meantime, here's some highlights from this past week:
Good friend and great customer Rob Brubaker finally putting his gear to work. Not bad for his 1st season fly fishing!
"This is Kevin Geib and his father Randy Geib. Randy has been trying to catch a Carp on a fly for a while not only did we get it done but we got quite a few nice ones.- Andy Jensen"
* Got this great report from friend Michael Palatas last week:
"Weekend last I took out my new 7wt TFO with Scientific Anglers' Sonar Titan line. The setup is awesome by the way. The line pretty much throws itself.
The smallmouth picture included is from my very first cast with my new setup & a mini D&D--excepting the trip I took two Sunday's back, wherein i found out my drag bearing was flipped backwards. Which is definitely something that leads to some interesting technical difficulties on the water. Which wasn't all together a bad thing as it gave a heron and I the time to observe what I believe to be carp spawning. I'll include the bit of video I got before I ran out of storage. There are some very large carp in the area and they make a ton of commotion across wide sections of the river while spawning. The video cut out just as I was panning down to a group of three fish swimming sideways belly to belly no more than four feet from me.
Predawn to 9am you can see the smallies chasing baitfish through the river seams. The fish are very active near moderate currents below faster water and below any well defined transition. Be it midstream or more toward the banks. Saturday morning I had 4 fish in my first 20-30 casts. After 9 I've had luck working the banks but definitely slower fishing. The articulated patterns still work but crayfish are also a great option.
Michael Palatas- crayfish really working well
Evening on into the night crawfish and larger 4-6" leech patterns have been successful--smaller leech patterns jigged with a floating line in the shallows will catch you 8-12" smallies all day and even a catfish from time to time. But come night a larger profile leads to some nice fish. No pics this year but equal success as last year.
Saugeye are common on the leech pattern as well during daylight hours. Mostly in deeper sections of the river but with a retrieve that is still fairy shallow.
Michael Palatas- Ohio Saugeye- great fun on a fly!
Welp...I've run on long enough. Time to go fishing!
P.S. It doesn't take much time to fill a small plastic grocery bag with trash, fishing line, lures & bobbers once you're done fishing for the day, especially on the more urban sections of our local waters.- Michael Palatas"
***Amen Michael! Great idea for all of us to carry a garbage bag and do our part to help keep our streams clean!
Mad River
Hard to believe, but the Mad really didn't budge at all with the rain. We all came into work on Thursday thinking it was time to bust out the streamers! Not so. The river remains low and super clear.
That being said, there are still some decent fish being caught. Stealthy is the keyword. Sneak up on them. Make a longer cast with a longer leader and you can still catch fish.
The lower river has been a bit slow but the upper has still been giving us some good to excellent dry fly fishing. Still some Light Cahills starting around 7:00 or 7:30 and they will be followed shortly after by the #18 Dorothea version of the Sulphers. Lots of #14 and #16 caddis flitting around as well.
There are Hexes on the Mad as well and a few have been spotted but so few people are fishing after dark that they usually get overlooked. Anybody willing to fish at night, have some big flies with you....with the water and temps the way they have been, would probably be a grand idea!!!
Nymph fishing has been ok......not as good as usual this time of year. If you were to fish sub-surface, stick with caddis larva and pupa. A green #14 larva with a green #14-16 soft hackle is a great bet and will produce fish if you slow down and don't spook the fish.
Also time to start thinking about fishing terrestrials although it has been slow to get going here. Especially if you are fishing during the day, have some ants and beetles along with you and fish them around overhanging bushes and branches. Hopefully this action will pick-up in the next few weeks.
Our good friend Jerry Rodgers sent this report a few days back:
"Hit the Mad this morn South of Millerstown rd. On the water by 6:30 -n- fished till 9 am. No big ones but did land 4 all on a 14 BH hare;s ear. All but one was caught while swinging it like a wet fly."
*****Interested in upping your game when it comes to Trout Fishing with a fly rod? Want to learn more about the Mad River?
The On-River Seminar this Sunday has a few openings! Meet Brian Flechsig at Birchbark Canoe liver at 10 and learn/fish/laugh until 5! Click Here for details.
Clearfork River
Both stretches of the Clearfork did bump up with the rain Wednesday night but have dropped right back down pretty quickly here. Should be a fine weekend for fishing.
Trout fishing for sure will be better in the Upper stretch. A few folks reporting better smallmouth and carp fishing in the lower. Not to say that you couldn't catch a few trout, but be prepared for some warmwater fish as well. Streamers seem to be doing well on smallies down in the park. Black in particular.
The dry bug to have is a Light Cahill. Still decent hatches of them in the evenings and fish have been coming up for them. It seems that the Sulpher Also tons of caddis. Have some dries for the evenings and larva and pupa in the afternoons. Ants and beetles have also been producing a few good fish and shortly terrestrial fishing will be the focus for a while.
Although a slower time of the year on the Clearfork, still some trout to be caught! Let us know how you do!
Clear Creek
Clear Creek did bump up pretty well with the rain but is on it's way back down as we speak. Tomorrow might still be a little off color but it should be back to normal (low) by Sunday.
Most anglers reporting fishing good early and late and they are resting it during the day. As stated before, the temps are getting up there so probably best not to stress the fish during the heat of the day. Fishing will be much better early and late anyways.
A few mayflies flitting around in the evenings but the main fare is by far the caddis. Have some dries if you see risers but otherwise the larva and pupa are the way to go. For sure have some soft hackles and you should do well. Also a few anglers reporting that small streamers on light leaders have been working well.
Just like the Mad and Clearfork, it's time to start thinking about ants and beetles as well. Might also have some crickets along as well as they typically do pretty well on Clear Creek. Terrestrial fishing will be the name of the game for the rest of the Summer as far as dry fly fishing goes.
***Have been hearing from the Park Rangers down on Clear Creek recently and they have been stating that they have seen alot of anglers this season. They also say that many have complained that they haven't been catching fish. These same anglers are almost always fishing from noon- 6 p.m. Want to catch fish? Fish early or fish late. Take a nap during the day!!!!!
Mad River Outfitters
Fly Shop, Guides, Schools and more!
813 Bethel Rd.
Columbus, Ohio 43214
614-451-0363
